The present invention relates to the manufacture of fittings or fixtures, and more particularly to a method of manufacturing different types of water and sanitary fittings or components, such as taps and mixers, each of which includes a number of functional parts of which one or more have portions that are in contact with water in use, and one or more casing parts which are at least partially visible.
The invention also relates to different types of functional parts affiliated with such sanitary fittings, and to casing parts associated therewith.
The functional parts of different types of water taps and mixers that are in contact with water have hitherto been given a design which is adapted primarily to the type of fitting with which said functional part shall be used. Consequently, the area in which such functional parts can be used is limited. This means, among other things, that in the case of new constructions of the casing part of a sanitary fitting it is also necessary to redesign the functional parts included in said fitting and to impart to said functional parts a form or configuration that will fit the casing part concerned. Normally, it is not possible to use one and the same functional part in different types of fittings fixtures.
Functional parts that have been produced from metal will normally often deliver a hazardous quantity of metal ions to the water flowing through said parts, resulting in serious health and environmental problemsxe2x80x94particularly in respect of drinking water.
This problem is not as serious in the case of plastic functional parts, e.g. thermal plastic parts.
Examples of functional parts produced from thermoplastic material will be found in WO-A1 97/17501, DE-A1 2 613 965, SE-B 401 552 and DE-A1 2 614 063. None of these documents states that the functional parts illustrated and described therein can be used in different types of sanitary fittings or fixtures.
According to one aspect, an object of the invention is to provide a method relating to the manufacture of fittings of the aforedescribed kind that will enable the manufacture of functional parts that fit will different types of sanitary fittings in a simple and inexpensive manner, and with which parts the aforementioned health and environmental hazards are avoided.
Another object is to provide such a method with which resultant functional parts can be combined in different ways to produce different types of mixer.
Another object is to provide a method of manufacturing sanitary fittings which enables the casing parts, i.e. the outside of the fittings to be varied in respect of design, material and surface treatment in accordance with developments in technology and fashion changes without needing to change/switch the functional parts.
A further object is to provide a method of manufacturing sanitary fittings which greatly reduces lead times and costs in respect of model changes.
These and other objects are fulfilled by an inventive method of the present invention.
Because the water-contacted functional parts form a module system that is constructed from a limited number of elements, said parts can be combined in different ways to produce different types of mixers. The fittings can be said to be built-up in accordance with a type of lego-system, which includes a limited number of elements, for example from 10-15 elements. Thus, a series of mixers and taps of different kinds can be produced from a limited number of standardised module elements.
At the same time, the casing parts, i.e. the outside of respective fittings, can be varied with respect to shape, material and surface treatment without needing to change the functional parts.
One significant advantage afforded by the invention is that the load on the environment is greatly reduced. The module elements shall thus be produced from environmentally friendly material which is accepted by current laws and product rules and regulations.
The fittings become lighter and the surface treatment of casing parts that was earlier necessary can be omitted completely when using certain materials.
According to one exemplary method, the functional parts are made from a plastic material, for instance from a thermoplastic material. This greatly reduces the risk of the release of harmful quantities of metal or other toxic substances, since no metal will come into contact with the water and since only material that is accepted with regard to foodstuffs is used.
In addition, it is preferred that the modularised functional parts are provided with given interfaces or boundary surfaces and that they can be typically core drawn in conjunction with injection moulding processes. The module elements, i.e. the functional parts, can thus be produced from thermoplastic material with the aid of traditional injection moulding machines and injection moulding methods. Alternatively, the module elements can be produced from some other material and with the aid of some other method of manufacture without departing from the concept of the invention.
The casing part may be produced from any one of a number of different materials, such as from stainless steel, zinc, plastic, brass, etc.
In one beneficial method of manufacture, the functional parts are provided with abutments or engaging parts which will enable a relevant number of functional parts to be readily mounted in a casing part.
Further advantages are gained when the casing part or parts is/are designed to hold the functional parts in place in their mounted position in said casing part or parts.
To this end, one or more casing parts and functional parts may be provided with co-acting devices, e.g. projections or wedges, that interact with grooves for fixing the functional parts in position in a casing part.
The casing part will therewith ensure that the functional parts remain in their respective mounted positions. Alternatively, a nut, a bayonet fitting or some other connection means may be used to this end.
In another aspect of the invention, the invention also relates to a functional part of a sanitary fitting.
According to a further aspect, the invention also relates to a casing part of a sanitary fitting.
Different aspects of the invention will now be made apparent in the following description of exemplifying embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings.